Faster, page 35
On June 19: Rao, Rudolf Caracciola, p. 237.
At AVUS on May 30: Lang, Grand Prix Driver, pp. 49–51.
“Well done, my dear fellow”: Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, p. 75.
The race, founded by the wealthy railroad family: Dick, Auto Racing Comes of Age, pp. 15–25.
Victory there would boost: Cancellieri, Auto Union, p. 90.
During their five-day voyage: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!, p. 135; Chakrabongse, Dick Seaman, p. 121; Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, p. 98.
“In future, Jews must not be allowed”: Nixon, Racing the Silver Arrows, p. 166.
“Nazis!” and threw rotten cabbages at them: Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, p. 98.
Such were the crowds: Pinkerton Detective Agency, July 15, 1937, 157/1114, DBA.
“This Rosemeyer family”: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!, p. 140.
American champion Rex Mays: Autocar, July 9, 1937.
In the end, Bernd easily won the race: Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, p. 99.
“Sir, I think you’re just grand”: Autocar, July 9, 1937.
“most spectacular automobile”: New York Times, July 6, 1937.
“swastika flag hung”: These quotes and the general propaganda impression left by the win is drawn from Bretz, Bernd Rosemeyer, p. 102; Day, Silberpfeil und Hakenkreuz, pp. 100–104; “Vanderbilt-Rennen in USA,” July 8, 1937, Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft, 157/1114, DBA; and undated news clip from Motor und Sport, 1937, 157/1114, DBA.
“We hope that you win!”: undated news clip from Motor und Sport, 1937, 157/1114, DBA.
Mercedes and Auto Union drivers returned to Berlin: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!,pp. 144–45.
“as if this were a Grand Prix”: Dreyfus and Kimes, My Two Lives, p. 76; Motor, June 22, 1937; Motorsport, July 1991.
“In its place”: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, pp. 351–52.
“pug-nosed dumdum bullet”: Ibid., p. 352; Classic and Sports Car, undated news clip, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA.
“How is she going to behave?”: L’Intransigent, June 27, 1937.
There was no deafening yowl: Strother MacMinn, “Delahaye Type 145 Coupe,” PPRA; Classic and Sports Car, undated news clip, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA.
“Some countries would like”: L’Auto, March 23, 1937.
“winged beetle”: Autocar, July 9, 1937.
Since its first test run: Dreyfus, interview with Caron, 1973.
“Obviously, it would be miraculous”: Le Journal, July 5, 1937.
By the second lap: Ibid.; L’Auto, July 5, 1937; Autocar, July 9, 1937; Autocar, July 1937.
René wondered again: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 365.
In a postrace interview: L’Auto, June 26, 1937.
on the triangular circuit: L’Auto, July 15, 1937; L’Auto, July 19, 1937; Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 371.
“Shut up, René”: Dreyfus and Kimes, My Two Lives, p. 77.
The accolades: Motorsport, November 2001.
“the whole of sporting Germany”: Autocar, July 30, 1937.
“cream of the European drivers”: Autocar, July 23, 1937.
“Make a perfect start”: Motor Trend, April 1975.
On green, he stabbed the pedals: Monkhouse, Motor Racing with Mercedes Benz, pp. 57–76; Motorsport, August 1937.
“Now, I must ask you”: Caracciola, A Racing Car Driver’s World, pp. 163–64.
Production figures at Mercedes: Pohl, Habeth-Allhorn, and Brüninghaus, Die Daimler-Benz AG in den Jahren, pp. 134–47.
The national autobahn project: Taylor, Hitler’s Engineers, pp. 1–40.
“Caracciola, the man without nerves”: Day, Silberpfeil und Hakenkreuz, pp. 157–59.
He published a best-selling memoir: Caracciola, Rennen, pp. 1–30.
“The driver fights”: Hochstetter, Motorisierung und “Volksgemeinshaft,”pp. 298–99.
“racetrack battle”: Reuss, Hitler’s Motor Racing Battles, p. 29; Day, Silberpfeil und Hakenkreuz, pp. 148–50.
10. “Le Drame du Million”
In late July: René Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million,” reprinted in Delahaye Club Bulletin, June 2011.
As August progressed: L’Auto, August 1–23, 1937.
“In bars and cafés”: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 377.
The Germans, notably engineers: Undated, unsourced interview with René Dreyfus, Automobile Quarterly.
“The engine turned”: Dreyfus, interview with Caron, 1973.
“It’s very simple”: Ibid.
With each day of tinkering: Sports Car Guide, September 1959; Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million.”
The sinuous circuit: Lyndon, Grand Prix, pp. 163–64; Boddy, Montlhéry, p. 87.
Its 12.5 kilometers of track and road: Motor, December 22, 1954; Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 353.
René brought down: L’Auto, August 10–18, 1937.
This was a dramatic reduction: L’Intransigent, July 4–6, 1937.
Bugatti announced: L’Auto, August 8–14, 1937.
“boldness and mastery”: L’Auto, June 26, 1937.
In the south of France: L’Auto, August 15, 1937; Paris and Mearns, Jean-Pierre Wimille, pp. 118–19; Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, pp. 379–80.
“Bugatti will have to fly”: L’Auto, August 18, 1937.
“Grievous Wounds”: undated news article, as quoted in Paris and Mearns, Jean-Pierre Wimille, p. 119.
“Ah, if I was ten years younger”: L’Auto, August 24, 1937.
“It’s possible”: Ibid.
“All other armies”: Weber, The Hollow Years, p. 251.
“Above all, no war”: Ibid., p. 23.
That year alone: “Bericht uber Prufung der im Geshaftsjahr 1937,” 12.26, DBA; Jolly, Delahaye: Sport et Prestige,pp. 110–12.
“national interest”: “Protokoll uber die am Donnestag, den 28. Juli 1937,” board minutes, 1×01 0021, DBA.
This belied how: Daley, Cars at Speed, p. 210.
Tax relief, busted trade unions: Gregor, Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich, pp. 36–38.
With board member Jakob Werlin:Ibid., pp. 61–70.
They had begun planning: “Mercedes-Benz 3-Liter Grand Prix Car—Report,” 3069/1, DBA; Ludvigsen, Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars, pp. 167–72; Ludvigsen handwritten notes on the W154, Personal Papers of Karl Ludvigsen, REVS.
After more development: “Protokoll uber die am Donnestag, den 28. Juli 1937,” board minutes, 1×01 0021, DBA.
In August: Alfred Neubauer, “Betrifft: Internationale Rennformel 1938–1940,” 170/1136/1, DBA.
Monsieur Charles: Undated, unsourced interview with René Dreyfus, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA.
To increase its speed: Report on chassis #48771, PPRA.
Competing for the Million: René Dreyfus, “Dotation du Fonds de Course,” undated and unsourced, PPRA.
The offside rear wheel: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 381.
The weather looked fine: L’Auto, August 26, 1937.
“Dreyfus, I trust you”: Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million.”
“No, I can’t do it”: Dreyfus, interview with Caron, 1973; Dreyfus, “Dotation du Fonds de Course”; Jolly, Delahaye: Sport et Prestige, pp. 144–46; Dreyfus, fiftieth-anniversary speech, September 1993, Delahaye Club Bulletin. Dreyfus recounted this ruse in many ways over the years to many interviewers. This conversation is assembled from these four authoritative sources.
The little dog: L’Auto, September 1937.
11. The Duel
René drove out of Paris: L’Auto, August 27–September 15, 1937; L’Intransigent, August 29, 1937; Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million”; Dreyfus, interview with Caron, 1973; notes on interview with Dreyfus by J. P. Bernard. PPRA; Dreyfus, “Dotation du Fonds de Course”; Dreyfus and Kimes, My Two Lives, pp. 81–82; René Dreyfus, letter to Martin Dean, June 14, 1985, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA; Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, pp. 381–82; Jolly, Delahaye: Sport et Prestige, pp. 145–47; Dreyfus, fiftieth-anniversary speech, September 1993, Delahaye Club Bulletin. The author drew on scores of primary and secondary sources, including photographs from the Mullin Museum and elsewhere, to reenact the August 27, 1937, Million Franc run by René in fine detail. These are the chief sources the author used throughout the two sections recounting the events. Quotes and other critical material are noted separately.
“branchless and petrified trees”: Autocar, December 21, 1934.
“You have our confidence”: Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million.”
At the end of the straight: Labric, Robert Benoist, pp. 162–65. In Grand Prix, Lyndon provides an exquisite description of Montlhéry. Any other description of the road course is augmented by the author’s own visit as well as a detailed schematic, including distances and gradients provided in Pascal, Les Grandes Heures de Montlhéry, pp. 30–31.
Five minutes, 22.9 seconds: L’Auto, August 28, 1937. All times and speeds are derived from tables published by L’Auto. To be completely accurate, René needed to run an average lap speed of five minutes, 7.15 seconds, rather than simply five minutes, seven seconds, to beat one hour, twenty-one minutes, 54.4 seconds. Over sixteen laps, this small percentage difference makes over two seconds of difference in favor of the “deficit” René needed to win back. To avoid a trial in mathematics, the author rounded down the figures. Any errors are his alone.
“That’s not enough”: Dreyfus, “Dotation du Fonds de Course.”
Any error or misjudgment: Motorsport, January 1933.
In the seventh lap: Robert Puval, “Un Million pour Quelques Dixièmes,” undated, unsourced news clip, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA; “A 210 Kilometeres a l’Heure René Dreyfus Lache le Volant,” undated, unsourced news clip, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA. In these two articles drawn from the Mullin Museum Archives on René Dreyfus, the journalists recount rides on the Montlhéry track (one with René himself) that put the reader into the moment and convey how it felt.
“4.9 Seconds Are Worth 1 Million”: L’Auto, August 28, 1937.
“You understand why”: L’Intransigent, August 29, 1937.
Jean-Pierre had arrived: Paris and Mearns, Jean-Pierre Wimille, p. 121.
Lucy planned: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 383.
“Tomorrow morning”: L’Auto, August 29, 1937.
“Since everything”: L’Intransigent, August 29–30, 1937.
On the third and guaranteed final day: Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million.”
She had come to expect such slights: Lucy Schell, letter to Maurice Phillipe, May 5, 1938, Maurice Phillipe Papers, REVS.
“Could they be conjuring up”: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 383.
Considering that Bugatti: L’Auto, August 31, 1937.
“Delahaye: Temporary Keeper”: Ibid.
At 4:00 p.m.: L’Auto, September 1, 1937.
With the sun: Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million”; Le Journal, September 1, 1937; L’Intransigent, September 1, 1937; Dreyfus, interview with Caron, 1973; Paris and Mearns, Jean-Pierre Wimille, pp. 121–23.
“It’s too late”: L’Auto, September 1, 1937.
At 7:02 p.m., the single-seater sped away: Le Fanatique de L’Automobile, 1978.
“Bravo!”: Paris and Mearns, Jean-Pierre Wimille, preface.
“driven like a god”: L’Action Automobile, September 1937; Jolly, Delahaye V12, pp. 10–11.
“jewel in the dazzling crown”: L’Action Automobile, September 1937.
“creator of Écurie Bleue”: Dreyfus, “Ma Course Au Million.”
“Will we count you”: Letter from the Basco-Béarnais Automobile Club Committee, September 1937, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA.
Some of the letters: Letters to René Dreyfus, September 1937, René Dreyfus Scrapbooks, MMA.
The money was insignificant: Dreyfus and Kimes, My Two Lives, p. 84.
12. “One of Us Will Die”
One morning in October 1937: L’Auto, October 9, 1937; Larsen, Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, pp. xvi–xvii; Autocar, October 8, 1937.
“Our industry French automotive industry”: Le Figaro, October 13, 1937.
The speakers at the ACF’s annual dinner: L’Auto, October 16, 1937.
“The Paris Show”: “Karosserie-Bericht Uber die Automobil-Ausstellung—Paris 1937,” 12.6, DBA; “Bericht uber den Besuch der Pariser Automobileausstellung 1937,” 12.6, DBA.
“Not too impressed”: Motor und Sport, September 11, 1937; Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 385.
“imminent danger”: L’Auto, October 22, 1937.
At the airport outside Frankfurt: Autocar, November 5, 1937.
Built to break records: Ludvigsen, Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars, pp. 140–43.
Since motor cars were invented: Howe, Motor Racing, p. 226.
There were many records: Ibid., pp. 226–27.
From the moment: Reuss, Hitler’s Motor Racing Battles, pp. 57–61.
As early as 1934: L’Auto, March 7, 1934.
In this way: Dr. Kissel, letter to Gerhart Naumann, May 22, 1937, 11.2, DBA.
With its long stretches: Nixon, Racing the Silver Arrows, p. 157.
The following year: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!,pp. 132–33.
The annual event: Day, Silberpfeil und Hakenkreuz, pp. 126–27.
Newsreel cameramen and photographers: Ludvigsen, Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars, p. 144; Autocar, November 5, 1937. In attendance, Autocar’s John Dugdale provides fascinating insight into the aerodynamic engineering of Mercedes. See also his book Great Motor Sport of the Thirties.
Since first joining Auto Union: Nixon, Racing the Silver Arrows, p. 206.
Every seam in the road: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!, p. 168.
“crossing the Niagara Falls on a tightrope”: Ibid., p. 208.
a son, Bernd Jr.: Ibid., p. 170.
“We proved once again”: Motor und Sport, October 31, 1937, and November 7, 1937.
“We cannot go on this way”: Nolan, Men of Thunder, p. 180.
Three days after: L’Intransigent, October 29, 1937.
A few weeks later: L’Auto, November 20, 1937; Autocar, November 26, 1937.
“Business done”: L’Auto, November 30, 1937.
“We shall soon”: Motorsport, December 1937.
On the French side: Ibid.; Motor und Sport, December 12, 1937.
“I fancy I can see”: Court, A History of Grand Prix Motor Racing, p. 248.
As for Maserati: Motor, March 8, 1938.
“Going on past form”: Autocar, November 19, 1937.
Shortly before Christmas 1937: La Vie Automobile, January 10, 1938; L’Auto, December 21, 1937.
In Frankfurt, on January 27, 1938: Rao, Rudolf Caracciola, p. 288.
“I’m convinced”: Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!,pp. 178–79.
For a few minutes: Ludvigsen, Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars, pp. 151–53; Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, pp. 106–9; Caracciola, A Racing Car Driver’s World, pp. 121–25; Rao, Rudolf Caracciola, pp. 289–90; Motor und Sport, February 6, 1938. This description of Caracciola’s record run is particularly indebted to his memoir and the account by Neubauer. All quotes and details come from the sources noted.
By nine o’clock: “Bericht Rekorde Frankfurt/Main,” February 2, 1938, 428/3020, DBA; Aldo Zana, “A Roadmap for a Tentative Explanation of Bernd Rosemeyer’s January 28, 1938 Accident,” The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing (website), http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/zana.htm; Caracciola, A Racing Car Driver’s World, pp. 125–28; Neubauer, Speed Was My Life, pp. 110–14; Rosemeyer and Nixon, Rosemeyer!,pp. 179–82. Feuereissen wrote an evocative account of Rosemeyer’s crash in Nixon’s book. The Zana study is the most authoritative on what exactly happened that fateful January day. All quotes and details come from the sources noted here.
“heavy day”: Goebbels, Die Tagebücher, pp. 121–22.
Goebbels perceived an opportunity: Zana, “A Roadmap for a Tentative Explanation of Bernd Rosemeyer’s January 28, 1938 Accident.”
“the news of your husband’s tragic fate”: Frilling, Elly Beinhorn und Bernd Rosemeyer, pp. 321–22.
“He died as a soldier”: Ibid.
“Bernd Rosemeyer—friend”: Day, Silberpfeil und Hakenkreuz, pp. 185–86.
The tragedy did not stop Rudi: “Niederschrift betreffend Vorstandsitzung vom 8. Marz 1938 in Untertürkheim, Kissel Protokolle 1938,” 0026, I/11, DBA.
“Fate took him from us”: Motor (Deutschland), March 8, 1938.
“chivalrous match”: “Betr.: Rekordversuch,” note between Hühnlein and Kissel, December 1, 1937, 12/25, DBA.
13. “Find Something”
On January 19, 1938: Delahaye Club Bulletin, March 2002.
After an extended: Dreyfus and Kimes, My Two Lives, p. 84.
Crossing the Mediterranean: Ibid.; Delahaye Club Bulletin, March 2002; L’Auto, January 25–30, 1938.
“It’s a tragic accident”: L’Auto, January 29, 1938.
René did not care to dwell on it: Ribet, interview with the author.
“Once the horror”: Daley, Cars at Speed, p. 187.
He and Laury: Blight, The French Sports Car Revolution, p. 421; Le Fanatique de L’Automobile, April 1978.
Jean Fran çois had managed: Jolly, Delahaye V12, p. 12.
Instead, he believed: “A Celebration of the Life of René Dreyfus,” PPDF.
On February 18: Autocar, February 18–25; La Vie Automobile, March 10, 1938; Motor und Sport, February 27, 1938; Chakrabongse, Dick Seaman, p. 136.
Since early February: Kershaw, Hitler, pp. 56–76.
“You don’t believe”: Ibid., p. 70.
“the end of Austria”: Shirer, Berlin Diary, p. 92.
“beloved child”: L’Auto, February 19–22, 1938.
“When I had the privilege”: Motor und Sport, February 27, 1938; Domarus, Hitler, pp. 1018–20.
